


Confession

by rinthegreat



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Free-ish form, HaruRinHaru Christmas Exchange, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 21:17:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5513630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>HaruRinHaru Christmas Exchange 2015 Request: A confession in a theme park ~ Half of the crew decides to hang out together one day in Tokyo because they haven't seen each other for a long time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confession

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dreamystic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamystic/gifts).



> Dreamystic, I really like your Request 2 as well, but it won't be finished in time for Christmas. I would give a time line, but I'm never very good at predicting these things. Hope this is a decent gift! :)

            “I love you.”  The saying spills its way out of Rin’s mouth one warm evening at the top of a ferris wheel in Tokyo.

\---

            Haru thinks that maybe, just once, it would be nice if Rin coming to visit wasn’t some sort of summoning call to everyone from Iwatobi.

            Rin’s been up to visit twice since leaving for Australia a second time, and every time he hears about it, the Narita airport is filled with former Samezuka swimmers and their old Iwatobi team.  He hadn’t even recognized half the Samezuka team the first time until he’d spotted Yamazaki speaking with the silver haired underclassman who had eye-stalked Rin that first year.

            Don’t get him wrong, Haru loves seeing Nagisa and Rei and Gou.  He doesn’t get to see them nearly as often as he’d hoped.  He also doesn’t quite mind sharing Rin with Makoto.  The three of them, and Nagisa, had been close back in elementary school, after all.

            But Haru…to him, he and Rin have a special connection.  And he’s not the loudest person in the room, so often he gets a little…lost in the shuffle.

            Both times before, though, Rin had actively sought him out.  Nudged his shoulder when they walked.  Pulled him aside to ask him seriously if he was happy with what he’d chosen as his dream.  And every time, Haru’s fingers had twitched.  Itched in their emptiness.

            This time is better.  Exams are in full swing back in Iwatobi, and presumably Samezuka, and the only one to come, other than the three already in Tokyo, is Gou.  She shifts a little nervously, hovering next to Yamazaki and checking her phone for the tenth time.

            Haru spots him first, bright hair a glaring contrast to the mediocrity surrounding him.  He has a bag slung over his shoulder and hasn’t noticed the group yet.  Even from here, Haru can see the play of Rin’s muscles standing out from under his shirt.

            He almost raises his hand to wave, but a twin streak of red hair flies past him towards Rin before he can.

\---

            Haru stares at Rin, illuminated by the city below them.  He blinks, once, twice, and Rin sighs, looking away.  “I thought so.”  His fingers shine against the glass, fingertips white where they meet the barrier.

\---

            They go to an amusement park after Rin’s dropped off his bag at Yamazaki’s apartment.  Haru’s isn’t…and besides he’d never thought to offer…and…

            His excuses run thin, even in his own head, but he can’t quite begrudge Yamazaki getting to spend time with his best friend.  They’ve mostly gotten over their differences by this point.  Haru even occasionally thinks of him as _Sousuke_ in his head.

            It’s hard not to, with how much Rin talks about him.

            “Why an amusement park?”  Rin asks, keeping his voice low enough that Gou won’t hear him.

            Haru looks ahead to where she’s excitedly talking Yamazaki’s ears off about her plans for university.  Even Makoto is giving them a nice distance, walking with the younger Matsuoka sibling and Yamazaki, nodding along even though he’s already heard her talk about this before.  “I don’t know,” he answers finally, concluding that Rin’s talking to him.

            Rin’s not put out by his answer.  He never really is.  Haru’s fingers flex and he shoves them resolutely into his pocket before they can do anything else.

\---

            Haru reaches forward, reflection moving a fraction of a second slower than his thoughts, but Rin just flinches away.  “Don’t,” the redhead breathes, fogging the glass.  “I don’t need your pity.”

\---

            As anyone could’ve predicted, Rin’s incredibly competitive at the park.  He challenges everyone, starting with Haru and ending with Makoto, to shooting games, mirror mazes, and even eating contests.  Haru had told himself that he was content just watching Rin, not wanting to get caught up in his pace like he usually does, but after watching Rin and Yamazaki shove each other around over a targeting game, he can’t hold back.

            Makoto and Gou, and eventually Yamazaki too, fall back as the two of them give in to their usual competitive drives.

            They make their way through every game, every stand, every short stretch that can be turned into a race, before they realize they’ve lost the rest of the group.  “Oh shit,” Rin curses as he checks his phone.  “Guess I lost track of time.”

            It almost makes Haru feel guilty.  Gou’s busy with her last year of high school, and Rin’s busy swimming in Australia.  They don’t get to visit very often, and when they do she always has to share him with everyone else.

            “Ah, Gou went back.  She said we’ll meet for lunch tomorrow.”  Rin locks his phone and shoves it in his pocket, smiling nervously at Haru.  “Good thing Sousuke gave me his key earlier.”

            It takes the sight of the lights playing across Rin’s face for Haru to realize how much time had passed.

            The grin slips for a second before Rin plasters it on again.  “Hey, want to ride the ferris wheel before we head back?”

\---

            The ferris wheel is stopped with their car at the top of the loop when the confession slips from Rin’s lips, flooring Haru.  His mind shuts down temporarily as it tries to process this.  He’d suspected, sure, when they were younger.  But he’d thought that Rin would’ve confessed already.  Acted on it that day they swam in the cherry blossoms.

            That would’ve been the perfect time.

            He reaches for Rin, deterred for a moment when the redhead flinches away.  The words, a response to an expected rejection, barely slip from Rin’s lips before Haru grabs him roughly.  He spins him around, plans running through his head at a thousand thoughts per minute.

            His mind settles on three things at once, and it ends in a tangle of limbs as the two of them lose their balance and fall onto the bench behind Rin.  The redhead struggles for a moment before giving up and looking at Haru _let me up_ clear in his expression.

            “You’re a shark,” is the brilliant explanation Haru comes up with.

            Rin stares.  “What?”  He asks, like it doesn’t make sense.  Maybe it doesn’t.  It probably doesn’t.  Not even in Haru’s mind.

            It finally settles on one plan forward though, and instead of responding, he leans down and presses his lips to Rin’s.

            He’s not Rei, he didn’t look up the theory extensively before testing it out.  He’s not like Nagisa either, who he suspects has more practice than any of the rest of them.  Nor is he like Makoto or Yamazaki, both of whom would probably know what to do with their lips.

            So he just presses them to Rin’s mouth, leaving them there long enough that neither of them can play it off as an accident or a misunderstanding before he backs away, giving Rin room to sit up.

            “Huh,” Rin says to himself more than to Haru.  “That’s that then.”

\---

            Together, they walk out of the park, Rin’s darker hand covered by Haru’s own pale one.  He shoves them both in his pocket and slides closer to Rin.  The redhead won’t be in Japan much longer, and the next time he comes back Haru knows he’ll have to share again.  But this moment, right now, is theirs and theirs alone.

            That night, Rin stays the night at Haru’s apartment for the first time.

           


End file.
